Cogmind's alpha launch went extremely well, so well that I really didn't have time to work on the game itself for a couple weeks afterward. A number of streamers and LPers have picked up the game. Among them you can check out this one for a quick intro to the game, and also this series from a semi-veteran player providing in-depth explanations and strategy tips.
More recently a week was spent fixing all known bugs and implementing a large chunk of feature requests. And with that we have the Alpha 1b release! If you own the game, read the official announcement here for how to update and migrate your settings.
Some of the new features:
Optional (and tweakable) motion trails to help some players who are having trouble following where robots are moving.
Active Structural Scanners will also enable detection of machines destabilized by collateral damage.
Some players say they'd prefer the sprites use the ASCII type-based coloring system for items (right) rather than the usual rating-based system (left) so that's now an optional feature. (I think the rating-based system is both more informational and easier to read, but no one will complain about more options!)
Full Changelog - Cogmind Alpha 1b (0.10.150610):
* NEW: Exit labels now explicitly indicate which lead to currently unavailable branches, even when unidentified
* NEW: Currently inaccessible exits are now shown in red, and also differentiated in scan window
* NEW: Discovered exits now report the map name in the log as well, if known
* NEW: Interactive machines have color effects to indicate locked/processing/tracing status
* NEW: Machine trace resets are reported to log
* NEW: Active Structural Scanners detect machines destabilized by collateral damage and color them differently
* NEW: Allied Operators within 20 spaces of you identify hidden doors in your field of vision
* NEW: Ally transfer range highlighted on map when followed by allies and at or adjacent to an exit
* NEW: Entering fire mode via mouse quickly highlights the previously attacked target as a reminder
* NEW: Robot motion trails which can be toggled and tweaked in the options (off by default)
* NEW: While motion trails are active, hostiles spotting Cogmind indicated by flashing exclamation points rather than background colors
* NEW: Path to cursor set to persistent highlighting when not in keyboard mode (can toggle in options)
* NEW: If not in keyboard mode, cursor-based movement direction is highlighted while hostiles in sight
* NEW: Added 2 new fonts at size 20 (equivalent to doubling the size 10 cased and all caps styles)
* NEW: Added 8 new fonts to enable larger images on resolutions above 1440p
* NEW: Manually set world seeds are reported in the log on starting a new game
* NEW: Escape key now accesses help/game menu when no other windows are active
* NEW: Adjacent space highlighted red for mouse users if moving in that direction will ram a robot (i.e. not flying and no melee weapon)
* NEW: Score sheet now records whether using keyboard mode
* NEW: Winning the game awards an additional 2000 bonus points to score
* NEW: Schematic info windows now indicate number of robots/items simultaneously produced, and required Fabricator level
* NEW: Successful indirect "database" hacks (queries/schematics/analysis/prototypes) may cause map-wide lockout of database access (hack evasion)
* NEW: Permanently locked machines are not added to intel data
* NEW: Option to use ASCII item type-based coloring style for sprites (cogmind.cfg only: see ratingBasedItemSpriteColors)
* NEW: Option to disable mouse wheel scrolling to wait (cogmind.cfg only: see noMouseWheelWait)
* NEW: Added several more tutorial messages
* MOD: Swapping is default behavior for drag-and-drop from inventory to parts list (no shift keypress required)
* MOD: "Auto-label on Examine" config setting defaults to true
* MOD: Robot hacking PARSE command results now display "N/A" for modules if none found
* MOD: Increased size of help/options button in bottom right corner of main UI
* MOD: Darkened path highlighting color (hold Ctrl-Alt to temporarily brighten it)
* MOD: Path visualization no longer shows while in a targeting mode
* MOD: Path-to-cursor highlighting not displayed when hostiles in sight and movements are in single-space increments
* MOD: Updated some utility effect descriptions to indicate whether they work in parallel, and can be paused/resumed
* MOD: Reduced rate of map data loss due to system corruption
* MOD: Reduced Repair Station part repair times by 25 turns
* MOD: Fabricators simultaneously produce more than one part at a time for certain schematics
* MOD: Data Core expiry raised from 20 to 30 turns
* MOD: Indirect robot analysis hacks limited by rating; must be <= current floor level, +1 per Terminal tier above the basic type
* MOD: Indirect item/robot schematic hacks limited by normal distribution rules
* MOD: Increased Fabricator level requirements for some robots
* MOD: Stepping on branch access points with Auto-Ascend active will enter them automatically (like stairs)
* MOD: Core-based hover movement benefits from Maneuvering Thrusters in the same way external hover propulsion does
* MOD: Being dug out of a Mine cave-in is now guaranteed
* MOD: Changed Recycling Unit manual hack commands from Report(Matter)/Retrieve(Matter) to Matter(Report)/Matter(Retrieve)
* FIX: Crash on opening context help while item window closing [Draxis]
* FIX: Crash on dying to a grenade fired from around a corner under certain circumstances [db48x]
* FIX: Crash on pressing a non-ESC key in robot hacking PARSE window [dragagon, PoorFredNoonan, Deliz Seemack]
* FIX: Crash on manual Build/Repair/Scanalyze hack command with no target set [biomatter]
* FIX: Crash on RMB on item selection menu at Scanalyzers (RMB for info works now) [Darkening Kaos, strings, Vherid]
* FIX: Delete Save & Quit wasn't deleting save data [Danny Perski, zill]
* FIX: Map cursor position restored when exiting item/robot info into examine mode after using context help in keyboard mode [Deliz Seemack]
* FIX: World seeding did not result in the same world [nsg21, Binary Gambit]
* FIX: World seed description in the options menu shortened to fit available space [Sylverone]
* FIX: Machines could be placed over stairs in rooms [boomblip]
* FIX: Operators could summon reinforcements from damaged Terminals [biomatter]
* FIX: FOV wasn't recalculated on ramming a target [Karlito, AGlassOfMilk]
* FIX: Map view wasn't recentered on player after ramming/impact displacement [ironpotato]
* FIX: Ramming a robot off the stairs with Auto-Ascend enabled on will ascend the stairs immediately [Draxis]
* FIX: Hit chance shown on for scan and map popups is capped to match actual value [infectedm, biomatter]
* FIX: Cogmind was not DPI aware, and Win8 scaled the UI greater than the desktop on high-DPI monitors unless manually disabled [db48x, daviwil]
* FIX: "Slowest Speed" in score sheet always reported 0 [nsg21]
* FIX: Initial startup from default config in sub-720p resolution wasn't forcing ASCII mode [Tuxedo-Knight]
* FIX: Alt-tabbing out of game in fullscreen keyboard mode was locking the cursor to the top-left of the screen [Maurog]
* FIX: Windows IME hotkey was interfering with swapping a part in inventory slot 0 while in keyboard mode [fonetikli]
* FIX: Screenshake was leaving artifacts around the window edges in letterboxed fullscreen mode [Maurog, bjartr]
* FIX: Remote Datajack schematic info didn't fit in the schematic examination window [Arseface]
* FIX: Schematic info for prototype parts could show as faulty
* FIX: Reconnecting to the same machine with a system analysis utility for a second session would not reward any familiarity bonus [E.I.G.]
* FIX: Month value in score sheet filename was off by 1
* FIX: Score sheet for a win now shows location as "Surface" rather than "-1/Access"
* FIX: Item name typo: "Mni. Assault Cannnon" [infectedm]
* FIX: While inventory auto-sorting active, window was scrolling to end when opening item info rather than beginning [Deliz Seemack]
* FIX: Part list order was not always maintained between map transitions and when continuing a previous game [biomatter]
* FIX: Temporarily inactive allied Operators could still provide hacking bonuses
* FIX: Escorted tunnelers sent to clear Mine cave-ins had overwritten their assigned AI and never excavated
Fantastic work and congratulations on the release!
Thank you :D
Just spending the first few releases working to improve the core game we have now before moving on to finishing the optional outlying areas where most of the story takes place!